By Byron Mutingwende As conflicts escalate globally, stakeholders in governance have been urged to consider recommendations from a meeting held by the Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL) hosted by the Chairman Man Hee Lee at the World Alliance of Religions’ Peace (WARP) Office in Cape Town. Four religious leaders from…
By Byron Mutingwende The empowerment of women is critical for development hence the need to promote social accountability and transparency in public finance management. The sentiment came to the fore during a media engagement exercise organised by the Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt and Development (ZIMCODD), meant to connect journalists with the communities and…
By Byron Mutingwende Harare-based lawyer, Dumisani Mthombeni has stood out as a paragon of the anti-corruption drive in Zimbabwe, with his work attracting accolades both locally and globally. Mthombeni obtained his law degree at the University of Zimbabwe in 2008. Besides the practice of law Dumisani is a youth and anti-corruption activist. He…
By Byron Mutingwende Journalists have reiterated that the prevailing working conditions in the media are not safe for them to carry out their mandate safely amid calls for gender equity in the sector. This emerged at a two-day workshop organised by the Zimbabwe Union of Journalists (ZUJ) to train media practitioners on Gender…
By Byron Mutingwende Multilingual education stands out as one way of promoting sustainable development and cultural diversity, it has emerged. Speaking at a discussion forum held at the United Nations Information Centre in Harare Wednesday, 22 February 2017, Professor Hubert Gijzen, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Regional Director of…
By Byron Mutingwende Radio still remains the most popular source of news and information in Zimbabwe, a senior United Nations official has said. Speaking during the commemoration of World Radio Day at Takashinga Cricket Club in Harare on Monday 13 February 2017, Bishow Parajuli, the United Nations Resident Corrinator for Zimbabwe said that…
The inclusive conservation of natural resources, including REDD+ Projects should be implemented in an inclusive and transparent manner, with respect for the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities and with consideration for the protection of biodiversity, Transparency International Zimbabwe (TIZ) has said “The lack of community engagement, inclusion and access to information is…
By Byron Mutingwende Makanaka Mukaranga (not her real name) pushes her wheelbarrow to Watsomba Business Centre in Mutasa District, awaiting the commencement of a food distribution exercise by one of the many organisations providing aid in the area. She is among hundreds of families that were identified to be in need of food…
By Byron Mutingwende Zimbabwe’s United Nations Resident Coordinator, Bishow Parajuli has said that it is important to mobilise the voices of the youths who should play an active role in the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Parajuli made the remarks at Junior Chamber International’s (JCI) 2017 Go4Gold Opening Night Ceremony event held…
By Byron Mutingwende Results from the 2016 Corruption Perception Index (CPI) placed Zimbabwe among the countries that scored below 50, on a scale from 0 (perceived to be highly corrupt) to 100 (perceived to be very clean), exposing the predominance of massive and pervasive public sector corruption. This year, Zimbabwe moved one step…
By Byron Mutingwende A vibrant health system characterised by proper nutrition, antenatal care and vaccination will decongest hospitals and stimulate economic growth, it has been established. David Okello, the World Health Organisation (WHO) Country Director for Zimbabwe made the remarks on the launch of the National Health Strategy held at Murewa District Hospital…
By Byron Mutingwende Civil society organisations (CSOs) have roundly condemned violence rearing its ugly head ahead of the Bikita West by-elections to replace jailed former Member of the House of Assembly for the area, Munyaradzi Kereke. The Election Resource Centre (ERC) Wednesday condemned the violent attacks on the opposition candidate for Bikita West…
Byron Mutingwende Harare City Council should direct energy on improving service delivery and address the major drivers of typhoid, the Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA) has said. Despite the call to such action, CHRA has noted efforts by the Harare City Council to contain the typhoid outbreak, which has resulted in two deaths…
By Byron Mutingwende The generality of Zimbabweans have expressed dismay over the recent increase in mobile data tariffs put into effect by the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ). In a statement Thursday, Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition (CiZC) said the increase by over 2 500% had all but confirmed that the Zimbabwean government…
By Byron Mutingwende The Amalgamated Rural Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) has reported that learning failed to kick-start Tuesday as teachers and learners were grappling with the challenges of implementing the new curriculum. Introduced by the minister of primary and secondary education, Lazarus Dokora, the new curriculum has a thrust on the teaching of…
By Byron Mutingwende The local girls were urged to take pride in the African identity at a colourful event organised by the Harare Junior Council on Friday 16 December 2016. “Dawn of African Beauty” was the theme this year for the Harare Junior Council’s Miss Harare Junior competitions. After figuring out that most African…
By Byron Mutingwende Women have described efforts towards the establishment of a gender sensitive fiscal policy measures espoused in the 2017 National Budget as piecemeal and have called a mechanism to legislate gender budgeting. Speaking at a dialogue meeting organised with stakeholders to discuss the extent to which government has embraced gender-responsive budgeting…
By Byron Mutingwende The 2017 National Budget comes against a background of limited employment and a tight fiscal space, a development that has a devastating impact on the wellbeing of the youths. Speaking during a half day meeting organized by the Youth Empowerment and Transformation Trust (YETT) on Wednesday 14 December 2016 at…
By Byron Mutingwende Scores of people, particularly human rights activists, have welcomed the opening of the new headquarters of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) offices. Promise Mkwananzi, the Spokesperson of Tajamuka – a protest movement calling for transparency and accountability from the leaders of the country and the resignation of President…
By Byron Mutingwende Spiked Zimbabwe this week, as part of our coverage of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence campaign, caught up with Marygrace Namatai Chipunza, a 22-year-old aircraft and rocket engineering graduate who is a talk show host and a motivational speaker currently living in Johannesburg, South Africa. The 16…
By Byron Mutingwende Terry Taona sits under the cool shade of the mango tree at his parents’ house in the Westlea Suburb of Harare, reading newspapers just after his return from South Africa where he had been an economic refugee for more than eight years. “I left Harare to South Africa in January…
By Byron Mutingwende Corruption remains high in the informal sector despite spirited efforts by Transparency International Zimbabwe (TIZ) to address the vice. Cross-border traders said on Friday 2 December 2016 that there is rampant corruption at the borders, especially following the enactment of the Statutory Instrument (SI) 64 of 2016. One cross border asked…
By Byron Mutingwende Members of the clergy who represent inter-denominational leaders from churches in Zimbabwe have condemned child marriage. The religious leaders revealed that when they converged at Holiday Inn Hotel in Harare on 28 November 2016 for the Inter-denominational Dialogue on Child Marriages in Zimbabwe, facilitated by Plan International Zimbabwe. “As church leaders, we…
By Byron Mutingwende Members of the Rural Women’s Assembly (RWA) have said that there is still a long way to go for them in owning and controlling land in comparison to their male counterparts. The sentiments were revealed at a policy dialogue meeting organised by Women and Land in Zimbabwe (WLZ) held at Mandel…
By Byron Mutingwende Parliamentarians play a crucial role in curbing corruption through creating legislation that enhances access to justice and fair distribution of resources. The Advocacy and Legal Advice Centre (ALAC), a unit of Transparency International Zimbabwe (TIZ) led by its Team Leader, Danai Mabuto engaged the Parliamentarians at a half day training workshop…
By Moses Chibaya and Byron Mutingwende The electoral body, Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), should not regulate who is supposed to vote come 2018 when Zimbabwe hold the make or break election, regional poll watchdog has said. The think tank and advocacy institution on elections and democracy, Election Resource Centre (ERC), has dismissed ZEC’s claims that…
By Byron Mutingwende Former Legislator for Chimanimani West Constituency, Munacho Mutezo has accused the ruling party Zanu PF of using dirty tactics in order to retain the seat through hook and crook. In an interview with Spiked ZW Online, Mutezo highlighted a number of irregularities including denial of food and inputs to members of…
By Byron Mutingwende The Integrated Soil-Water Conservation and Livestock Management in the Runde Catchment area has been hailed for improving the livelihoods of the people. The environmental protection and monitoring project resulted in the improvement of the livelihoods of the population in 97 wards of Mwenezi, Chivi, Masvingo, Zaka and Bikita districts. …
By Byron Mutingwende The coordinated multi-stakeholder response to the severe effects of drought has gone a long way in reducing the vulnerability of both rural and urban dwellers grappling with food shortages and challenges of malnutrition. The El Nino – induced drought has led to a serious surge in food insecurity and hunger…
By Byron Mutingwende All roads are leading to Masvingo for the Women’s Entrepreneurship Day (WED) celebrations in Zimbabwe’s oldest city. WED is a global initiative with a mission to celebrate, support and empower women entrepreneurship worldwide. It was initiated in 2014 by the WED Worldwide Movement which is headquartered in New York in…
By Byron Mutingwende The European Union (EU) has extended a huge financial assistance to help Zimbabwe cope with its current food crisis. The bloc did so by allocating another EUR 7.5 million (USD 8.4 million) in response to the deteriorating food insecurity situation in Zimbabwe, bringing its total contribution for drought relief to more…
By Byron Mutingwende Health is a basic fundamental human right recognised under the global development agenda as one of the crucial priorities that governments must address. Speaking at a meeting on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), John Ngirazi, the Executive Chairperson of the Community Working Group on Health (CWGH)said that the health sector…
By Byron Mutingwende Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs it has emerged. “Sustainable development calls for concerted efforts towards building an inclusive, sustainable and resilient future for the people and the planet. For sustainable development to…
By Byron Mutingwende All roads are leading to Masvingo for the Women’s Entrepreneurship Day (WED) celebrations in Zimbabwe’s oldest city. WED is a global initiative with a mission to celebrate, support and empower women entrepreneurship worldwide. It was initiated in 2014 by the WED Worldwide Movement which is headquartered in New York in…
By Byron Mutingwende Forced marriage, child labour, female genital mutilation and other practices undermining girls’ health and rights threaten the world’s ambitious development agenda, warns the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), in The State of World Population 2016, released recently. According to UNFPA Zimbabwe, in the country, child marriage is rife with one…
By Byron Mutingwende Civil society organisations (CSOs) have expressed concern over the half-hearted attempts and lack of political will to reform the laws and institutions governing the conduct of elections in Zimbabwe. This emerged at an All Stakeholders Conference coordinated by the Zimbabwe Elections Support Network (ZESN) in Bulawayo early this week to…
By Byron Mutingwende President Mugabe’s Spokesperson and the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information, Media and Broadcasting Services, George Charamba has been lambasted by the Zimbabwe Association of Community Radio Stations (ZACRAS) for stifling the promotion of media plurality and diversity. Charamba, who has for long been reluctant to give licences to…
By Byron Mutingwende Transparency International Zimbabwe (TIZ) has said there has for a long time been sufficient rhetoric about prosecuting the implicated hence the need for immediate action towards that move if corruption is to be eradicated from society. “For a long time the media has been awash with ample evidence implicating political…
By Byron Mutingwende and Moses Chibaya Zimbabwe’s human right record comes under international spotlight as the Election Resouce Centre has said that it was disturbed by the violent interruption of Parliament activities by unruly elements of society. Scores of suspected Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front (ZANU PF) youths and women in Mutare,…
By Byron Mutingwende The Zimbabwe Manpower Development (ZIMDEF) scandal brought to the spotlight the political dynamics, appointments and issues of transparency and accountability in public finance management in far as dealing with corruption is concerned. Speaking at a policy dialogue dubbed “The Political Economy of Corruption and the Battle for Accountability in Zimbabwe:…
By Byron Mutingwende The demolition of houses that belonged to thousands of people settled at Morecambe area in Harare South Constituency on Wednesday 26 October 2016 near the Mbudzi People’s Market brought to the fore the susceptibility of the land governance system to corruption. The demolitions come hard on the heels of the…
By Byron Mutingwende Stakeholders have been urged to craft a clear trade policy direction that will enhance sustainable economic development to extricate Zimbabwe from its myriad of challenges. This emerged at the State of Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) Dialogue meeting organised by the Southern and Eastern African Trade Information and Negotiations Institute (SEATINI)…
By Byron Mutingwende The government involvement and commitment to the United Nations systems coupled with the support of the development partners, civil society organisations, national associations, the media and community leaders and members will lead to the realisation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In his statement on the occasion of the 71st Anniversary…
By Byron Mutingwende It never crossed her mind that one day she would bag the MTV Africa Music Award as a child advocate but thanks to Plan International, Mary Taedzerwa’s dream came to fruition as she was crowned the champion at a glamorous event in South Africa. Mary Taedzerwa, a Zimbabwean young former…
By Byron Mutingwende Melody Machuwaire (34) reckons that the Lowveld, particularly the Chibuwe area under Chipinge South District, has endured extreme weather events for more than a decade since Cyclone Eline devastated the area in the year 2000. “Chibuwe is a hot area. Up to the 90s, under rain-fed agriculture, we used to grow crops…
